@allenholub

The fact that the "rational" people have veto power over creative people is a huge problem.

Follow the outliers. (5/5)

@allenholub

Saying "what we do now 'works'" just digs you deeper. Yes, it will work, up to the point of collapse.

Unfortunately, the rational bean counters who control most organizations automatically veto any real improvement, because there are no metrics for a novel approach.

Nobody's done it, yet, at least not inside the organization—outside metrics are always discounted by "we can'd do that here"—so there are no numbers. The "proof" they demand is impossible. There is nothing to measure.

Consider the "Drive" (self-determination theory) principles: connectedness, autonmy, mastery, purpose. There are no metrics for those principles, but implementing them improves performance dramatically, vastly more than working on velocity or improving metrics.

But try to suggest that we focus on happiness, and you'll be shot down as an irrational dreamer within seconds. Even saying "happiness will improve the metrics" will be discounted with "show me proof." (4/5)

@allenholub

When a bee finds pollen, it comes back to the hive and communicates where the food is. The rest of the bees then hare off to that location and start harvesting. About 20% of them, however, don't do that at all.

They continue wandering around at random seeing what there is to be seen (and trying things nobody's tried). Without those forragers, the hive dies. Always. No matter how rich the pollen source is, you eventually exhaust the supply. You cannot fix the problem with 10x bees.

Improving the route makes no difference. Your pollen-collection metrics are outstanding—improving even—up to the point of collapse. The hive needs innovation to survive.

In other words, any "improvement" strategy that involves continuing to do what you do now with a laser focus on improving the metrics will fail. True improvement comes from that 20% of the hive that's off looking for new things. Without that 20%, the hive dies. (3/5)

@allenholub

This is a brilliant talk by Rory Sutherland:

https://youtu.be/lhlS-Wds02M?si=kWBIe36aAC6aAqeg

where he makes two essential points. First, it's a huge problem when "rational" people get veto power over creative, innovative, "irrational" people.

Second, you excel, not by copying things that somebody does, but by doing the things they don't do—by surprising people in a good way. This observation is true in both marketing and process improvement.

Sutherland looks at bees to demonstrate the problem. (2/5)